Fire Emblem: Root of Evil
by Rabblerouser88
Summary: An herbalist by trade, Kylik was never one to involve himself in politics or nations. However, the times of his hermitage come to an end when the world itself is in need of heroes instead, what with ravenous undead, outright war, and the ever-disastrous forces of Chaos bringing turmoil. It falls to him and his allies of the Shepards to save Ylisse from these new threats!


**AN**: Hello all! This contains something unfamiliar to many of you, my original concept of Avatars, multiversal elemental protectors who span many hundreds of worlds. This presents two options for you, with one being that you wait for an explanation contrary to this story or you can read Chapter 50 of my OP: A New Storm fic to find (somewhat) full disclosure on Avatars. Do Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: From the Wilds **

"Damn. Crafty bastards…I lost their trail again…" A lone voice muttered with silent curses, eyes glued to the ground before him. The dirt he tread on showed no signs of disturbance and had no intention of informing where the quarry he pursued had went. Gaze shifted to the brush around him, but between the twilit sky above and the natural darkness provided by the thick conifers that encompassed the forest around him, little could be seen. A hand shifted to his side, a small pack adjusted to his belt, digging around until a seed the size of a strawberry was produced. "Maybe one of the guys can track their scent…"

His train of thought suddenly derailed when the entirety of the woods began shaking and rumbling with such force that the shadowed figure toppled forward from his squatting position. Chin met dirt for but a second as he regained his balance, rubbing his jaw as it throbbed dully from the unexpected tumble.

"What the hell? An earthquake?" He mumbled before the noticing the contents of his pack sown willy-nilly on the ground next to him. A myriad of seeds of a multitude of sizes spilled around as he quickly moved to gather them. "Yeesh, sorry 'bout that fellas…" Apologizing to an unseen entity, he scooped up and returned them to their former home, trying his best to seen the darkness. It was then the sky lit up bright as day and he easily found the harder to find seeds that blended so well with the shadows of the forest. "Ah. Much better…Thank Imani, a light…a light…in the middle of the forest…at midnight…."His brain started putting the pieces together as his focus shifted to the source of his newfound brightness. Eyes widened to mammoth proportions as the source was revealed, a cataclysm of epic proportions before him. Meteors of fireballs rained from the sky as though a volcano had been summoned in the midst of the wilderness.

"_**Visshen nall**_!" A foreign swear escaped his lips as adrenaline pumped through his veins and he promptly began running from the calamity that threatened to swallow everything up behind him. A bright light from overhead suddenly illuminated his path of retreat, and with reflexes like that of a veteran soldier, the figure leapt into the trees and bolted away upon the branches as a cart-sized fireball tore into the ground where he would have been had he stayed true to his course.

"_**Iata**_! What is going on?! Is it a damn Magma Avatar?" He cursed, leaping branch to branch as nimbly as a monkey. As he questioned the deities above, a girlish scream echoed from his right, tinged with fear. Even amidst the inferno that raged around him, the recognizable sound of steel clashing in pitched combat could be heard as well alongside the grunts and howls of battle. "Who would be dumb enough to fight in THIS?!...Wait…"Landing firmly on the branch of an elder oak, a hand caressed his chin in contemplation. One could see the light bulb above his head light up in anticipation as an idea came forth. "Slavers are dumb enough to fight in this!" With a light chuckle that hid the bloodlust in his voice, the figure bounded off towards the warzone.

"Eyah! Chrom! Frederick! HELP!" A young woman cried out in fear, twin blonde curled pigtails jumping to and fro as their owner tried in a increasingly vain attempt to outmaneuver an opponent. Her yellow dress was smeared with dirt and grime The staff in her hands helped to deflect the blows trained on her by a simple sword, a stark contrast to its wielder, an abomination of bruise-colored skin and eyes that glowed a hellish red as it billowed black mist from its mouth. It roared in a hideous tone as it once again made to end the poor girl.

"Lissa!" A man nearby shouted, his sword carving down an insurmountable number of similar wretches to the one attacking his comrade, only more seemed to swarm him. "Curses...Darren!" He bellowed, his weapon awash in a luminous blue aura as it tore through the horde.

"Hang on! I'm...*grunt*...coming!" Another man bellowed, his blade decapitating a monster before him with but a single swipe of his hand. With practiced ambidexterity his other hand glowed with flame-colored runes as it became a blazing missile, flying into a pair of the attackers and with a burst of fire turned them into a pair of crisped husks. A temporary respite it seemed, as several lumbering ghouls served as replacements for their fallen and effectively blocked the spellsword's path to his endangered companion. "Damnit..."

"H-Help..." The panicked young lady whimpered as the latest attack knocked her prone upon the ground, the wretch hefting his weapon high for the final blow.

*_Thwip thwip thwip_*

A trio of unknown projectiles came from beyond the darkness of the woods and embedded themselves into the ground between the pig-tailed healer and the undead soldier. This sudden interrupted halted the creature for but a moment and it continued its advance upon the downed cleric.

"Grow!" A hidden command was followed by a feint rose-colored glow from the earth before her, and she had to repress a shriek of shock as several man-sized vines burst forth, entangling and effectively stopping her attacker in his tracks. Its strength no match for the tendrils that held it, and its sword arm unable to cut itself free from the hold.

"Yaaahhooo!" A cry and a branch snapping emerged from her flank, a figure bursting forth from the brush. It spun through the air, on a course for the ghoul. The figure unfolded itself from its curl as it descended to the creature, a wooden quarterstaff now in view and in possession as what was now revealed to be a young man. With a aerial lunge, the staff revealed a wooden blade at its tip which easily pierced the skull of its target as though it were butter. The man perched on the shoulder of his now-skewered prey, and with a blood-curdling squelch, the spear was pulled out of its cranial resting place, the unknown savior used the force of the unsheathing to back-flip in the air and land in front of her. His back to her, the man rid his weapon of the discolored chum that gathered on his point away with a flick of the wrist before turning to her.

He was most likely in his late teens, a very low chance of him being over twenty. Though his face was sharp and lean, his jade green eyes and friendly grin radiated joviality. The hair which hung to his shoulders was a radiant orange-gold with the exception of the few leaves and twigs sticking out it and held no organization in its looseness and freedom. The top portions were covered by a dirt-colored and covered beanie that also encompassed his forehead, though several wayward strands could be seen dangling out. Matching hair colored the small triangular soul patch he wore underneath his bottom lip that reached his pointed chin. His frame was wiry and lanky and from a glance, was not tall but not short either. His clothes were brown and earth colored, and were loose enough to be comfortable and taunt in few places to allow for maximum mobility. Several places of importance were covered by hardened leather armor with exceptions of the light pauldrons on his shoulders, bracers that could been peeking out from the long sleeves and his shoes were flat and were open-faced to expose his toes. He also seen to sport a strange furred belt that was similar to his hair color, several various pouches and sacks seemed to be tied to a hidden waistline underneath the strange belt.

"Yo." he said nonchalantly as though he wasn't in a life-threatening battle, extending his hand to the fallen lady. "C'mon, not a good idea to be sitting down in a fight." He chuckled lightly, hefting the cleric to her feet.

"What...was **that**?" She asked, a little dumbstruck at the performance before her, but an answer would have to wait as a duo of monsters rushed them. Her confusion tripled as the furry belt unwound itself from his waist and floated behind him...revealing itself to be a monkey-like tail, bobbing about with gusto. "What...is **that**?!"

He only let a winded chuckle out before spinning his spear and meeting their charge. A clumsy thrust of a decrepit lance from one of the walking corpses was easily deflected by a spinning flourish of his spear, his back to his attacker mid-spin as the blow glanced off the staff. With momentum on his side, the stranger finished his turn whilst bringing up his spear, swinging it like a guillotine and removing his attacker's head. Its companion was undeterred and with a guttural roar, shoved the corpse of its partner aside. With both of its clawed hands, it readied a vertical arc to chop the intruder in half with its blackened sword. Its attack struck only empty space as the stranger used the momentum of his attack to tuck and roll forward to come at the creature's side. A quick low slash brought the ghoul to its knees and another finished it off, both of the monsters now dissipating into the same ebon mist they spewed from their ravenous maws.

Before he could revel in his victory, a swift pain rocked him as an arrow tore through the side of his neck. It thankfully grazed him instead of outright piercing him, but it was close enough to gash him and bring him to a knee. An archer was now in sight as it emerged from the foliage to his flank, nocking another arrow to end him.

One hand to halt the bleeding on his neck and another digging in his pouch, the young man apparently found what he was looking for as his expression shifted from one of shock to one of confidence. The enemy archer pulled the drawstring back as the stranger threw something into the ground before him.

"Grow!" he commanded as the arrow flew true...only to be deflected by another form barring any further injury to its summoner. The creature stood a few heads taller than a man, looming over both master and adversary. Two spindly legs supported a insectoid thorax, impatiently stepping back and forth, swaying in anticipation of battle. The body curled upward, supporting a figure with a gaping mouth, its "teeth" gnashed together, it had no eyes to speak of, adding to its eeriness. It sported two massive mandibles that looked capable of cutting a man in twain if caught in their grasp. Despite its insectoid appearance; it sported leaves upon its abdomen and thorax; its skin was more akin to a moss-covered bark than exoskeleton; and upon its top was a massive flowery crown alike that of a rose in both color and shape.

"What in the name of Naga is **that**?!" The girl behind him cried out in confusion, shrieking in fear as the plant-spider turned towards her and its apparent caller, seeming to communicate with a warbling growl and the clacking of its mandibles.

"Sic'em boy!" The man shouted, pointing towards the undead bowmen as it tried to loose another shot, this one ineffective as the last, it clanging harmlessly off the creature's bark-skin.

With a hiss once more reminding those around it of its similarity to a bug, the giant critter rushed towards its quarry, knocking it to the ground with a bull rush before impaling it on its sword-like tendrils. Flinging the fallen prey away before it too vanished into smoke, the plant-spider grabbed an approaching axe-bearing ghoul and threw it like it was a simple rag doll.

"C'mon, where'd I put those..." The young man's train of thought was interrupted when a soothing sensation came over him, an unknown light source hovering over him as his wound closed up as if it was never there. It was the girl he had saved earlier, the edge of her staff near his former injury, alight with healing energies.

"There we go!" She chirped gaily at her handiwork, her patient standing to his full height.

"Much better...thanks, missy." He chuckled lightly once again, a lazy grin plastered on his face.

She was about to respond when a concerned shout broke through the air. "Lissa!" It was the two men, who were most likely her comrades, ran over with a third heavily-armored man on horseback.

"Mi'lady! Are you hurt?!" He cried out worriedly, hopping off his steed and inspecting the little lady for any sign of injury. The man was adorned in a heavy set of light blue-tinged plate, though some spots were spotless and showed signs of the utmost upkeep, the rest of it was splattered with the gore of whatever the monsters they just fought were made of. His chestnut hair seemed to be both shaggy and neat at the same time, and his face was broad and strong with eyes that seemed to scrutinize and analyze every little detail.

"Frederick, I'm fine...Really!" She cried out, ripping her arm from the knight's grasp.

"No thanks to me, milady...I have failed as a knight of Ylisse in my duty to guard you..." He looked absolutely crestfallen at the thought of it. A sudden clap on his shoulder caught his attention and broke his melodrama as the man who wielded the glowing blue sword stepped forward.

"At ease, Frederick...You fought well to keep those other dastards from encircling the lot of us." He spoke with blunt tact, trying his best appease his comrade. He was well muscled, the body of a perfect soldier, and had a frock of ocean-blue hair. His armor was somewhat gallant in its hues to match his hair as well the ivory cape that draped behind him. Only one of his arms brandished armor however, whilst the other was bare to the world as it revealed a strange mark or tattoo of some kind.

"If there is any fault to be had it should fall on me." The last man to arrive, he sported shorter hair than his other two male companions, a neat trim with sideburns of dull green to match a pine's needles. He was leaner than the other two as well, but stood at an in-between the two in height. A long scar reach from the top of his forehead to pass over his left eye and reached down to his mouth with an intersection scar from his nostril to his sideburn. He bore a long, black hooded coat that seemed to drape over his whole body save for his front where a lone rope secured his top portion and let the rest of his front person be visible. "I should have accounted for the fires on our flank to not bar all of them...I accept any and all blame for this, Chrom...Lissa."

"Nonsense, there is no blame to be had...only praise..." The blue-haired man identified as Chrom spoke up. "Especially to you, my friend." he directed this at the strange fighting mage before him. "You have my thanks in saving my sister...Who seems to be in need of rescuing quite often as it seems nowadays." He finished with a mocking snicker at some kind of inside joke between the two, the blonde girl punching him in the arm.

"No problem...I was just in the area and happened upon...this" He waved his hand about, signifying the battlefield. "Couldn't leave a cute girl defenseless, now could I?" He finished with a quick wink towards the little lady who giggled at his words. "Name's Kylik, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Chrom and these are my Shepherds, a sort of militia to help ward off brigands in Ylisse..." he directed introductions to each of the people surrounding him. "This is my sister Lissa."

"Thanks for saving my keister back there by the way." She laughed, her hands behind her back grasping her staff whilst bearing the biggest of smiles. "That was very brave of you." She then lit up as though remembering something vastly important and moved behind her new friend. "I wasn't seeing things! You do have a tail!"

Another of his usual chortles as he closed his eyes and rubbed his head, "Heheh...That I do...It comes in handy somet-YEOW!" Kylik suddenly yelped in either surprise or pain with a following jump, his eyes bugging out of his head. He turned to see his tail in Lissa's grasp like a child with a cat.

"I'm sorry! I was seeing if it was real!"

"Well, it is!" He flicked it back to his person, rubbing the part she had yanked on.

Chrom merely covered his face with his palm, shaking his head at his sister's curiosity before motioning to the man at his right. "And this is our tactician, Darren."

The man with the coat and green hair answered his cue and stepped forth to shake Kylik's hand. "A pleasure, that was some strange magic back there by the way..and that thing you summoned..."

At this, said thing trotted on back with what could be construed as a happy growl, clapping its mandibles together in almost a singsong way before nuzzling up to its master. "Heh, good boy, Clax." The creature seemingly purred as he scratched an area where mandible met body, eliciting a steady rhythm of the thing stamping its left leg on the ground like a dog being scratched behind the ears. "And he's not a "thing"...he's my pal and familiar..." he directed this without anger towards the coated tactician.

"Oh, my apologies."

"And as for the magic, I'm an Avatar, so I use magic that's a bit different than yours." He again chuckled, but his words had a profound effect on the knight as he suddenly became a wall between his two charges and Kylik.

"An Avatar?! Here?! Milord, we cannot trust a thing he says!" he said with renewed passion, voice toned with concern, "Are you from the Protectorate?! Some sort of plot to worm your way into Ylisse and broadcast your heresy?"

"Oh yeah, tin can...You figured me out, I was going to undermine the entirety of your country by saving the life of a passerby. My master plan is foiled...curse you, super-sleuth." He deadpanned, voice dripping with sarcasm. The living plant beside him picking up on his now-hostile tone and hissing in displeasure towards the target of his insults. "Easy, boy..." He patted the creature's neck, its hiss lowering in volume but still persisting.

"Frederick, that's enough." Chrom stepped forward, brushing past his armored colleague and looking him dead in the eye while he summoned his most lecturing tone. "He helped save Lissa, is that not proof enough of his good intentions?"

"…Very well." Frederick now acquiesced, removing himself from his guardian position to stand near his horse. "But I will still keep an eye on you, Avatar."

"Ah gee, I love you too, big guy." Kylik mocked once again his deadpan, sarcastic tone.

"I'm sorry, Frederick the Wary has once again proven his title...he is somewhat overzealous in our protection." The swordsman said with all due sincerity.

"It's not a problem, C." he replied, the lazy grin returning to his face. "I've seen more than my share of bigots...and that's not to say that his attitude towards the Protectorate is unwarranted...but rest easy, I'm an Independent Avatar, so I don't bother myself with Protectorate bull-spit."

"I am sorry to ask, but what is an Avatar?" Darren now piped up. "I'm afraid all these terms are flying over my head..."

"it means well...uh..." Kylik now scratched his head as he tried to find an answer, thankfully an interruption appeared as three more figures emerged from the foliage, one upon horseback.

"Well, that was a good fight! I'm all pumped up now!" A female voice came from atop the newest steed.

"Ah, the heat of battle is nothing compared to the soulful fire of my romance sweet Sull-" The rest of the sentence was cut off when the rider lashed out with her boot and struck the man clean in the side of the head and toppling him like a domino. The third figure only shook his head as he walked briskly towards the group.

"Hey, Chrom! We kicked some serious ass, huh? And...WHAT IN BLAZES IS THAT?" The female rider reared her horse in surprise at the creature nuzzling against a newcomer of the group.

Kylik got a good look at the trio as they closed the distance now...although one was still hanging onto his head as though it would fall off...but considered the blow he just took, it wouldn't surprise anyone if it did.

The rider was a well-muscled woman, clad in blood-red and tanned armor. A tussled mess of scarlet hair covered her head, one could tell she was a warrior as in her surprise she had already brandished her lance and seemed ready to combat this new threat.

The recipient of the former's kick was an archer to be said of the bow hanging from his back and the quiver at his waist. Light blue hair was styled and neat and fell to the man's shoulders, his face bearing no ill-will towards his striker. He was skinny and tall, at least the same height as Frederick and was wearing armor so fanciful and embroidered it seemed better suited to parades and decoration more than actual combat.

The third had been silent the entire time, and walked with purpose it seemed. His face was hidden behind a mask, his mouth and forehead seemingly the only revealed parts. His hair matched Chrom's in color, and he was adorned in a dark blue tunic and armor to match with a similarly-colored cape covering his back.

"Its alright, Sully...They're friends." Chrom said with a light smile as his fellow Shepherd put away her weapon with some hesitation and approached the group.

"Okay, boy...Time to go back." Kylik muttered to his familiar, scratching one more time in its favorite spot before a rosy aura enveloped his arm and coalesced around the creature. With nary a sound, it vanished into thin air, a small strawberry-sized seed where it once was. Picking it up and dusting the seed off on his chest, he proceeded to tuck it away on one of his many pouches.

"That's Sully, another Shepherd...and...Virion was it?" Chrom finally spoke up again, gesturing to the newcomers.

"Yes, that is my name indeed, my good sir!" Virion piped up, puffing out his chest like a peacock with its tail feathers. "Archest of archers and name whose mere utterances cease the crying of babes the world over! Only I-Urf!" His egotistic monologue was interrupted by a familiar boot to his cranium.

With a cocksure smile, Sully turned her attention from the womanizing bowman to the young Avatar. "Nice to meetcha, kid...what was that big bug-lookin' thing anyhow?"

Kylik would have answered would it not have been for the third of the newcomers staring at him...kind of made him uneasy. "Hey mate, I know I'm handsome but ya don't have to stare..."

This seemed to snap the unknown out of his glare, causing him to focus on Chrom who now approached. "I have you to thank as well, it seems...I never caught your name by the way."

The young man made to open his mouth, but then quickly backtracked over himself. Whatever he wanted to say before apparently did not suffice, "You may call me Marth." He answered coolly.

"Marth?...Like the old king?" Chrom questioned before Lissa piped up.

"I didn't get the chance to say it before, so thank you..." She said with beaming smile as she rocked on her heels.

"It is fine...I came here only to deliver a warning." He replied with stoicism, unfeeling in his words. "This world teeters at the brink of destruction...What you saw here tonight..." He looked about, seeing the now-departed walking corpses. "was but a prelude. You have been warned." Turning on his heel, he walked away as though he did not just warn someone about an impending apocalypse.

"H-Hey! What's teetering where now?" Seeing that he wasn't going to answer her as he disappeared into the forest, she turned to her brother. "What in the world was he talking about?"

"Hmph...Guess he's not one for talking..."

"Perhaps his talents lie elsewhere, milord." Frederick added, shifting onto his horse.

"Perhaps you're right..." Chrom said, a look of unease washing over his face.

"Whatever the case, I don't think that's the last we'll be hearing from him." Darren said, folding his arms inside his sleeves.

A moment passed before Chrom paced forward, turning to have both Virion and Kylik in his line of sight. "Anyway, Virion...Kylik...you both helped us out today and I'd like to extend to both of you an invitation to the Shepherds."

"But of course...For it is my solemn oath to defend all damsels in distress, and what better way than to join like-hearted comrades...I accept wholeheartedly!" Virion practically glowed with pride, receiving a welcoming nod from Chrom.

"As much as I like the whole 'protecting the innocent' bit, I'm kinda on a mission of my own right now." Kylik couldn't meet eye-to-eye as he tried to refuse, rubbing the back of his head while staring at the forest around them. "See, about two weeks ago...my little brother was kidnapped by a group of slavers...I've been tracking for a while now, but lost their trail when I got to this forest..." He finally looked at Chrom and was relieved to see a sympathetic face instead of a disappointed one. "You guys haven't seen a caravan of bandits with cages haven't you?"

"I'm afraid not, we encountered a band of brigands a few days ago, but they seemed to be more an unruly mob rather than slavers..." Darren interjected.

"I see...thanks anyway..." Kylik muttered, a mite miffed at losing track of an entire band like he had. "and thanks for the invite, but my brother's safety comes first..."

"Don't fret over it, I would make the same decision in your shoes." Chrom said, approaching the Avatar and extending his hand. "The offer will still be open once you find your brother, so I wish you Godspeed in your search."

With a firm grasp, Kylik shook his hand as he smiled brightly. "Thanks, I might take you up on that when I find him..." Releasing his grasp, Kylik turned towards the direction he came and placed his left hand's pinkie and pointer into his mouth. Three sharp whistles in quick succession echoed throughout the forest. "I better get going then, maybe they got caught up in this mess and had to slow down."

It was then a rumble in the forest stirred, one could hear something coming towards them at great speed.

"What the-?" Darren muttered as a large unknown came barreling towards them before bursting through the flora. A large covered wagon pulled by an aged, yet very much healthy, auburn-colored heavy bred horse. With a nimble hop, Kylik bounded onto his carriage, wrapping his tail once again around his waist.

"Safe travels, all!" With a mock salute, Kylik whipped the reins, signaling the horse to begin its slow gait as it pulled to get the wagon wheels going. Hearing the good-byes behind him turn into but whispers on the wind, Kylik chuckled once again to himself. "Heh...nice people...hope they don't wind up dead...Now then..." He rubbed the small cluster of hair under his lip. "If I were a band of slavers looking to sell a burly guy like Burgann...I'd go...out of Ylisse, that's for sure...and they most likely wouldn't head for Plegia...not this time of year in the desert...best bet...Regna Ferox."

**End of Chapter **

**AN**: Thanks all for reading this! by the by, if you're curious about the MU in this, his specs are like such: Body: 3, Face: 5, Hair: 5, Hair Color: 4, Voice: Male 2.

And Kylik is pronounced "Key-Lick" instead of "Kie-Lick" just those of you wondering.


End file.
